The Arrows of Venus
Venus. Wife to the god of fire, lover to the god of war, mother to the messenger of desire. A multi-faceted goddess of extreme human emotion. The naive hail her as bringer of heartwarming love, the miserable and lovesick fear and curse her as an evil witch and cruel twister of human fate. But the wise remember her affair with Mars and realize that Love and War are often two sides of the same coin.
In this program we take the audience on a journey through these different mythological and philosophical representations, through the eyes of the poets and composers of the Italian baroque. Together we will observe how the philosophical issues addressed by classical mythology are artistically reiterated in the form of stories and music. Indeed, while she does not always appear in flesh, the vastly different personalities of the Goddess will be present and very deeply felt throughout the program.